HR Administrator

The founder and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We have, over the past thirty years, implemented ideas and initiatives that have transformed the opportunities of pupils from working class and disadvantaged backgrounds. Harris academies are widely recognised as a force for social mobility. We are immensely proud of the role that our alumni are now beginning to play in the world and of what we believe our current generation of pupils will go on to achieve.

We now have over 50 schools educating more than 40,000 young people across London and Essex, and employ over 5,000 staff across our academies and head office. With the majority of our academies located in areas of high socioeconomic disadvantage, a high-quality education is key to the futures of the pupils we serve.

As a provider of employment and education, we value the diversity of our staff and students, and all our staff are equally valued and respected. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment for our students and staff.

Our work will impact many generations to come, and our staff come from all backgrounds and walks of life, coming together to inspire young minds. We promote an inclusive culture that embraces the valuable and enriching contribution that all of our community make. We continue to be proactive in uplifting and supporting all voices at Harris.

To discover more about our culture, ethos and what it is like to work here, visit the Why Work For Us page.

Join the Harris Federation as an HR Administrator and play a key role in delivering an outstanding onboarding experience for new employees across our Head Office functions. As part of a collaborative, supportive and fast-paced HR Operations team, you will be responsible for coordinating pre-employment checks, managing onboarding activities and ensuring every new starter experiences a seamless, professional and compliant journey from offer acceptance through to induction.

Working closely with hiring managers and stakeholders across the organisation, you will help uphold the highest standards of safer recruitment while providing an exceptional candidate experience. Your attention to detail, organisational skills and commitment to service excellence will be essential in ensuring onboarding processes are managed efficiently, accurately and in line with regulatory requirements.

This is an excellent opportunity for a highly organised and proactive administrator with an interest in HR to further develop their career within one of the country's leading education trusts. You will gain exposure to a broad range of HR processes, contribute to continuous service improvements and play an important role in supporting colleagues across the Federation.

If you are customer-focused, detail-oriented and motivated by delivering a high-quality service, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Your responsibilities will include:

Onboarding Administration

• Coordinating the onboarding process for Head Office appointments including reference requests, new starter forms, right to work checks, qualification verification, and Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) screening.
• Initiate online medical checks, ensuring any declared disabilities or health concerns are appropriately escalated to the line manager.
• Drafting employment contracts to ensure accuracy, consistency and compliance with organisational policies.

HR Administration

• Compiling personnel files for Head Office employees.
• Updating the Head Office Single Central Record (SCR) for all new starters.
• Inputting of new starters onto the external payroll portal.
• Submitting DBS invoice payments to the Finance team ensuring that prior approval is obtained.
• Assisting with the maintenance of the probation monitoring process for Head Office.

Academy HR Support

• Acting as the first point of contact for onboarding queries, liaising with academies and internal and external providers, and escalating issues where appropriate.
• Support with projects and initiatives, while contributing to the development of training resources for new academy HR staff.

For a full list of responsibilities, please download the Job Pack.

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Qualifications to A Level or above
• Experience in a busy administrative role
• A keen interest in HR and Employment Law
• The ability to understand and support hiring manager needs and challenge managers where needed
• The ability to be trusted with highly confidential information
• The ability to think creatively and outside the box
• A results driven and proactive attitude, without compromising on quality
• The ability to use data analytically to drive decision making and track progress
• A passion for HR and ensuring outstanding candidate experiences
• A resourceful, meticulous, and organised way of working, with the ability to multitask

For a full job specification, please download the Job Pack.

If you would like to discuss the opportunity further, or if you have any questions, please contact us via email to arrange a conversation.

Before applying please ensure you download the job pack from our careers website, this will help with completing your application. Please note that we only accept applications submitted online before the closing date.

When applying, you will have the option to import your CV or use a LinkedIn profile which will auto populate the online application. 

A reminder to check your junk mail for our email communications and add us to your safe senders list to ensure all future email communication is received.

Our vision, from the start, has been to provide the structure and services needed for our schools to amount to more than the sum of their parts, and to free-up our teachers and leaders to focus on one thing and one thing only: the outstanding education of all their pupils. Our young people and communities are at the heart of everything we do. Our core mission has always been to close the educational gap between young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers. Our ambition is one where every child in London, no matter their background, has equal access to high quality education, giving them the same opportunities and potential to succeed.

We know there are many challenges facing our young people and the communities we serve, and that’s why we need determined people like you to help us tackle those inequalities. Whilst each of our academies has their own unique cultures and values; as a whole Federation, we have four core values which are central to successfully achieving our vision: Excellence, Collaboration, Support, and Innovation. We are proud of our values because they guide us in how we work allowing us to achieve the best possible outcomes for our young people, communities, and colleagues.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates. We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.

Harris has a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.
You will also have access to a variety of benefits, support programmes and initiatives including:

• Excellent opportunities for continuous professional development and career progression
• Annual loyalty bonus
• Pension scheme (Teachers' Pension Scheme or Local Government Pension Scheme) with generous employer contribution
• 26 days' annual leave (inclusive of our Christmas Eve closure day) plus bank holidays, rising to 27 days after 2 years' service, or equivalent for staff on term time contracts
• Harris Wellbeing Cash Plan including cover for routine and specialist healthcare
• Employee Assistance Programme for free and confidential advice
• Cycle to work salary sacrifice scheme
• Wide range of shopping, leisure, and travel discounts
• 20% off at Tapi Carpets, exclusive to Harris employees
• Interest-free ICT and season ticket loans

For most non-teaching staff based at our Head Office in East Croydon, we also offer lifestyle friendly working arrangements including flexible start and end times, and hybrid working with two days from home and three days on site.